Thread by @bellingcat

What can open source imagery and ship tracking data tell us about the stricken #EverGiven container ship that is currently blocking the #SuezCanal?

bellingcat.com/resources/2021…

Given the canal’s immense strategic importance, the ship’s predicament has attracted the attention of the world’s media.

Satellite imagery from the likes of @sentinel_hub shows the MV Ever Given lodged firmly in the canal. The ship is so big that it can be seen by simply typing “Suez Canal” into the platform's search field

@sentinel_hub Ship tracking websites such as @MarineTraffic can give an idea of the backlog caused by the blockage, with ships backed up on both ends of the canal

@sentinel_hub @MarineTraffic Other ships already appear to be re-routing their journeys to avoid the congestion. This image from @marinetraffic shows the container ship HMM Rotterdam diverting its journey at the Strait of Gibraltar

@sentinel_hub @MarineTraffic Google search techniques can help find public documents that provide an array of useful information such as cross-sectional diagrams for multiple locations along the canal

@sentinel_hub @MarineTraffic By figuring out the exact position of the Ever Given, and combining it with cross-sectional data, we can visualise the depth of the canal along the length of the vessel

@sentinel_hub @MarineTraffic This can give us an idea of the scale of the task facing engineers attempting to free the Ever Given

@sentinel_hub @MarineTraffic This guide references tools that anyone can use, for free, to build an overview of this developing story

Read the full, more detailed version of the story 👇 : bellingcat.com/resources/2021…